Browns QB Kenny Pickett reportedly suffers hamstring injury after appearing to take early lead in position battle

Yahoo

21 hours ago

Cleveland Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett went down with a hamstring injury on Saturday afternoon in training camp.
Specifics of his injury or the severity of it are not yet known, though Pickett is expected to be re-evaluated again later this week, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. While there is plenty of time for him to bounce back before their season-opener, the injury could undoubtedly open the door for others deep in the four-man quarterback battle.
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The Browns struck a deal to acquire Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles in March, part of a move to bolster the position after Deshaun Watson tore his right Achilles tendon for a second time. They then brought in veteran Joe Flacco, who made it clear he didn't want to just sit back and help the room, and the Browns selected two quarterbacks in the NFL Draft earlier this spring. They landed Oregon star Dillon Gabriel and Colorado standout Shedeur Sanders, who ended up sliding down to the fifth round.
Though it's still early in the position battle, it's been Pickett that has impressed so far. He's taken a bulk of the first-team reps early on, and took the final snaps at practice on Saturday. He threw a touchdown pass on that play, too, according to ESPN. Flacco and Gabriel, however, have rotated in with him throughout the week. Sanders has yet to receive first-team reps.
"His first two days have been stellar," Browns QBs coach Bill Musgrave said of Pickett earlier this week, via ESPN. "He had one throw, he was late yesterday, resulting in an interception, which is OK. We don't want interceptions, but at times we learn from when we stub our toes more than we have our triumphs. But he's had his share of triumphs these last two days, especially throwing on the run. Incredibly accurate for just jumping back into camp after us being off a number of weeks this summer."
There are any number of ways the Browns can end up going at quarterback. Flacco is a proven winner throughout his career, but he's entering his 18th season in the league at 40 years old this fall. Gabriel and Sanders are unproven, but were great prospects coming out of college. And Pickett has been a starter in the league, too, though he's now with his third team in four seasons looking to finally find true success after struggling early on in his career.
Time will tell who Musgrave and the Browns end up going with for their season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. But if Pickett's hamstring injury lingers, like they often can, the early advantage he's seemingly picked up in the race may disappear quickly in training camp.